Elite land grabbing in Namibian communal areas and its impact on subsistence farmers’ livelihoods

This brief examines some emerging trends and dynamics in changing power relations in rural Namibian communities due to emerging new elites and the threats to subsistence farmers’ access to communal land and natural resources.Australian Development Cooperatio

Livelihoods after land reform

In 1990, Namibia emerged from colonial rule with a skewed distribution of agricultural land and high levels of poverty. The new government led by SWAPO Party initiated a process to address the land question within the first few months of Independence. A National Conference on Land Reform and the Land Question in 1991 was the foundation on which the Namibian government developed its land reform programme. The Ministry of Lands, Resettlement and Rehabilitation started in 1990 to acquire freehold farmland for subdivision and allocation to previously disadvantaged Namibians. This component of redistributive land reform was complemented by the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme (AALS) established in 1992. The AALS provided subsidised loans to previously disadvantaged Namibians to acquire large-scale commercial farms under freehold title. The primary objectives of land reform in Namibia were to address injustices which largescale land dispossession had brought about, and to reduce poverty and inequality. However, little empirical work has been done to assess the impact of land redistribution on poverty levels and the livelihoods of beneficiaries. The most comprehensive survey on the impact of land redistribution was conducted by the Permanent Technical Team on Land Reform (PTT) in 2003/04. The primary objective of this survey on “livelihoods after land reform” is to add to the existing body of knowledge on land redistribution. Through case studies in Hardap and Omaheke Regions, the survey explored the extent to which land redistribution is reducing poverty and meeting livelihood improvement objectives

Livelihoods after land reform: Namibia country report (2010) Section B

The first AALS farmers in Hardap obtained their land in 1992, and the most recent in 2003. In Omaheke, the first AALS farmer obtained his farm in 1992 and the most recent, a woman, in 2000. Thus in both regions the oldest AALS beneficiaries have been farming as such for 17 years. All 10 AALS farming households interviewed in Hardap Region were male-headed. Eight of the household heads were married with a civil marriage certificate, one was widowed and one was single. One farm was registered in a wife’s name while her husband waited for his AALS loan to be approved. All the others farms were registered in the names of the household heads. The AALS farm sizes ranged from 3500 ha to 20000 ha

Comparing a paper based monitoring and evaluation system to a mHealth system to support the national community health worker programme, South Africa: an evaluation

BACKGROUND: In an attempt to address a complex disease burden, including improving progress towards MDGs 4 and 5, South Africa recently introduced a re-engineered Primary Health Care (PHC) strategy, which has led to the development of a national community health worker (CHW) programme. The present study explored the development of a cell phone-based and paper-based monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system to support the work of the CHWs. METHODS: One sub-district in the North West province was identified for the evaluation. One outreach team comprising ten CHWs maintained both the paper forms and mHealth system to record household data on community-based services. A comparative analysis was done to calculate the correspondence between the paper and phone records. A focus group discussion was conducted with the CHWs. Clinical referrals, data accuracy and supervised visits were compared and analysed for the paper and phone systems. RESULTS: Compared to the mHealth system where data accuracy was assured, 40% of the CHWs showed a consistently high level (>90% correspondence) of data transfer accuracy on paper. Overall, there was an improvement over time, and by the fifth month, all CHWs achieved a correspondence of 90% or above between phone and paper data. The most common error that occurred was summing the total number of visits and/or activities across the five household activity indicators. Few supervised home visits were recorded in either system and there was no evidence of the team leader following up on the automatic notifications received on their cell phones. CONCLUSIONS: The evaluation emphasizes the need for regular supervision for both systems and rigorous and ongoing assessments of data quality for the paper system. Formalization of a mHealth M&E system for PHC outreach teams delivering community based services could offer greater accuracy of M&E and enhance supervision systems for CHWs.Web of Scienc

Using a mHealth system to recall and refer existing clients and refer community members with health concerns to primary healthcare facilities in South Africa: a feasibility study

Background: Lay health workers (LHWs) are critical in linking communities and primary healthcare (PHC) facilities. Effective communication between facilities and LHWs is key to this role. We implemented a mobile health (mHealth) system to improve communication and continuity of care for chronically ill clients. The system focused on requests from facility staff to LHWs to follow up clients and LHW referrals of people who needed care at a facility. We implemented the system in two rural and semi-rural sub-districts in South Africa. Objective: To assess the feasibility of the mHealth system in improving continuity of care for clients in PHC in South Africa. Method: We implemented the intervention in 15 PHC facilities. The clerks issued recalls to LHWs using a tablet computer. LHWs used smartphones to receive these requests, communicate with clerks and refer people to a facility. We undertook a mixed-methods evaluation to assess the feasibility of the mHealth system. We analysed recall and referral data using descriptive statistics. We used thematic content analysis to analyse qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with facility staff and a researcher fieldwork journal. Results: Across the sub-districts, 2,204 clients were recalled and 628 (28%) of these recalls were successful. LHWs made 1,085 referrals of which 485 (45%) were successful. The main client group referred and recalled were children under 5 years. Qualitative data showed the impacts of facility conditions and interpersonal relationships on the mHealth system. Conclusion: Using mHealth for recalls and referrals is probably feasible and can improve communication between LHWs and facility staff. However, the low success rates highlight the need to assess facility capacity beforehand and to integrate mHealth with existing health information systems. mHealth may improve communication between LHWs and facility staff, but its success depends on the health system capacity to incorporate these interventions

Hospital acquired COVID-19 infections amongst patients before the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations, a scoping review

Background Hospital settings are at increased risk of spreading Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, hence non-pharmaceutical prevention interventions (NPPIs) and prioritized vaccination of healthcare workers and resident patients are critical. The status of COVID-19 hospital acquired infections (HAIs) in low-income settings is unclear. We aimed to identify and summarize the existing evidence on COVID-19 HAIs amongst patients, prior to the rollout of vaccines in countries worldwide. Methods We conducted a scoping review of English peer-reviewed literature in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus using a combination of selected search terms. Full texts articles presenting results on COVID-19 HAIs in hospitalised patients before the rollout of vaccines in countries worldwide were eligible. Data extracted from eligible articles included estimates of COVID-19 HAIs, country, and type of hospital setting, and was summarized narratively. Quality assessment of included articles was not possible. Results Literature searches generated a total of 5920 articles, and 45 were eligible for analysis. Eligible articles were from Europe, North America, Asia, and Brazil and none were from low-income countries. The proportion of COVID-19 HAIs ranged from 0% when strict NPPIs were applied, to 65% otherwise. The estimates of COVID-19 HAIs did not differ by country but were lower in studies conducted after implementation of NPPIs and in specialized hospital settings for operative surgery. Studies conducted before the implementation of NPPIs or in long-term care and psychiatric wards often reported high estimates of HAI. Although there was no clear trend in general wards, those situated in academic hospitals managed to reduce HAI rates under strict NPPI protocols. Operative surgery settings, unlike psychiatric settings, effectively prevented COVID-19 HAI using tailored NPPIs. Conclusion The available evidence shows a high risk of COVID-19 HAIs, the feasibility of preventing HAIs in different healthcare settings and the importance of appropriately tailored NPPIs. There were no data from low-income settings, therefore, it is unclear whether the reported NPPI approaches could be equally effective elsewhere. We recommend routine monitoring of COVID-19 HAIs in countries with low vaccination coverage, to identify and close gaps in NPPIs and understand gains made from vaccinating healthcare workers and hospitalized patients

If you work alone on this project, you can't reach your target : unpacking the leader's role in well-performing teams in a maternal and neonatal quality improvement programme in South Africa, before and during COVID-19

AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND MATERIALS : All the transcriptions and analysed data can be obtained, on reasonable request, from the corresponding author.SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION : ADDITIONAL FILE 1: Socio-economic and health indicators of participating districts. ADDITIONAL FILE 2. QI advisor and Team leader interview schedules. ADDITIONAL FILE 3: Evidence used to rate team performance.The South African National Department of Health developed a quality improvement (QI) programme to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and still births. The programme was implemented between 2018 and 2022 in 21 purposively selected public health facilities. We conducted a process evaluation to describe the characteristics and skills of the QI team leaders of well-performing teams. The evaluation was conducted in 15 of the 21 facilities. Facilities were purposively selected and comprised semi-structured interviews with leaders at three time points; reviewing of QI documentation; and 37 intermittently conducted semi-structured interviews with the QI advisors, being QI technical experts who supported the teams. These interviews focused on participants’ experiences and perceptions of how the teams performed, and performance barriers and enablers. Thematic data analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti. Variation in team performance was associated with leaders’ attributes and skills. However, the COVID-19 pandemic also affected team functioning. Well-performing teams had leaders who effectively navigated COVID-19 and other challenges, who embraced QI and had sound QI skills. These leaders cultivated trust by taking responsibility for failures, correcting members’ mistakes in encouraging ways, and setting high standards of care. Moreover, they promoted programme ownership among members by delegating tasks. Given the critical role leaders play in team performance and thus in the outcomes of QI programmes, efforts should focus on leader selection, training, and support.ELMA Philanthropies and the South African Medical Research Council.https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.comam2024Paediatrics and Child HealthSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

Intervention in mothers and newborns to reduce maternal and perinatal mortality in 3 provinces in South Africa using a quality improvement approach : protocol for a mixed method Type 2 hybrid evaluation

BACKGROUND : The COVID-19 pandemic undermined gains in reducing maternal and perinatal mortality in South Africa. The Mphatlalatsane Initiative is a health system intervention to reduce mortality and morbidity in women and newborns to desired levels. OBJECTIVE : Our evaluation aims to determine the effect of various exposures, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and a system-level, complex, patient-centered quality improvement (QI) intervention (the Mphatlalatsane Initiative) on maternal and neonatal health services at 21 selected South African facilities. The objectives are to determine whether Mphatlalatsane reduces the institutional maternal mortality ratio, neonatal mortality rate, and stillbirth rate (objective 1) and improves patients’ experiences (objective 2) and quality of care (objective 3). Objective 4 assesses the contextual and implementation process factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, that shape Mphatlalatsane uptake and variation. METHODS : This study is an implementation science type 2 hybrid effectiveness, controlled before-and-after design with quantitative and qualitative components. The Mphatlalatsane intervention commenced at the end of 2019. For objective 1, intervention and control facility-level data from the District Health Information System are compared for changes in institutional maternal and neonatal mortality and stillbirth rates and associations with QI, the COVID-19 pandemic, and both. This first analysis includes data from 18 facilities, regardless of their allocation to intervention or comparison, to obtain a general idea of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. For objectives 2 to 3, data collectors abstract data from maternal and neonatal records, interview participants, and conduct neonatal facility assessments. For objective 4, interviews, program documentation, surveys, and observations are used to assess how contextual factors at the macro-, meso-, and microlevels explain variation in intervention uptake and outcome. The intervention dose is measured at the microlevel only in the intervention facilities. The study assesses the Mphatlalatsane Initiative from 2020 to 2022. RESULTS : From preliminary analysis, across the 3 provinces, maternal and neonatal deaths increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas stillbirths remained unchanged. Maternal satisfaction with quality of care was >90%. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the QI teams functioning. However, the QI teams regained their pre–COVID-19 momentum by adapting the QI model, with advisers providing mentoring and support. Variation in adoption at the mesolevel was related to stable and motivated leadership (particularly at the facility level), poor integration into routine processes, and buy-in from senior district managers who were affected by competing priorities. Varying referral and specialist outreach systems, staff availability and development, and service delivery infrastructure are plausible factors in variable outcomes. CONCLUSIONS : Few evaluations rigorously evaluated the effect of health system interventions on improving health services and outcomes. Results will inform the scaling up of successful intervention components and strategies to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or similar emerging epidemics on maternal and neonatal mortality.http://www.researchprotocols.org/Paediatrics and Child HealthStatistic

From purists to pragmatists : a qualitative evaluation of how implementation processes and contexts shaped the uptake and methodological adaptations of a maternal and neonatal quality improvement programme in South Africa prior to, and during COVID-19

DATA AVAILABILITY : All the transcriptions and analysed data can be obtained, on reasonable request, from the corresponding author.BACKGROUND : Despite progress, maternal and neonatal mortality and still births remain high in South Africa. The South African National Department of Health implemented a quality improvement (QI) programme, called Mphatlalatsane, to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and still births. It was implemented in 21 public health facilities, seven per participating province, between 2018 and 2022. METHODS : We conducted a qualitative process evaluation of the contextual and implementation process factors’ influence on implementation uptake amongst the QI teams in 15 purposively selected facilities. Data collection included three interview rounds with the leaders and members of the QI teams in each facility; intermittent interviews with the QI advisors; programme documentation review; observation of programme management meetings; and keeping a fieldwork journal. All data were thematically analysed in Atlas.ti. Implementation uptake varied across the three provinces and between facilities within provinces. RESULTS : Between March and August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted uptake in all provinces but affected QI teams in one province more severely than others, because they received limited pre-pandemic training. Better uptake among other sites was attributed to receiving more QI training pre-COVID-19, having an experienced QI advisor, and good teamwork. Uptake was more challenging amongst hospital teams which had more staff and more complicated MNH services, versus the primary healthcare facilities. We also attributed better uptake to greater district management support. A key factor shaping uptake was leaders’ intrinsic motivation to apply QI methodology. We found that, across sites, organic adaptations to the QI methodology were made by teams, started during COVID-19. Teams did away with rapid testing of change ideas and keeping a paper trail of the steps followed. Though still using data to identify service problems, they used self-developed audit tools to record intervention effectiveness, and not the prescribed tools. CONCLUSIONS : Our study underscores the critical role of intrinsic motivation of team leaders, support from experienced technical QI advisors, and context-sensitive adaptations to maximise QI uptake when traditionally recognised QI steps cannot be followed.ELMA Philanthropies and the South African Medical Research Council.https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.comam2024Paediatrics and Child HealthSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein